What a strange book. It is probably the only book - in print - written in the ancient Brahmi alphabet. If that is not weird enough, the text of this book is in Pali, the language of the Buddha. No one knows for sure, but everything points to the fact that this alphabet was known at the time of the Buddha. Of course the discourses of spiritual leaders were written down much later, but if someone ever would have taken notes listening to the Buddha - this is probably how it would have looked.

How can a publisher expect to make money on such a publication? It is a totally crazy, totally wonderful idea!

But who is crazy enough to buy it? I, for one. I ordered a copy as soon as I saw it.

Perhaps it would fall within the realms of "Fair Use" for you to scan a page for us, so we can see what it looks like, when it arrives? I for one would be curious to see a page.

Metta,Retro.

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

Thanks for being crazy enough to let us know.In future, I'll expect MN quotes from you in English, romanized pali and Brahmi-pali!kind regards

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

There's a preview function at the link, and a few pages in you can see an example.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

Peeking through the book, Brahmi script really looks alien! Being a language nut that may be something fun for me to look into one of these days... I'm already trying to learn Pāḷi If I had the money, I'd definitely be crazy enough to buy it ^^

Thanks for sharing!

Mettā pāramī,Leah

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him."

Kori wrote:Peeking through the book, Brahmi script really looks alien! Being a language nut that may be something fun for me to look into one of these days... I'm already trying to learn Pāḷi If I had the money, I'd definitely be crazy enough to buy it ^^

Thanks for sharing!

Mettā pāramī,Leah

Even if you don't learn to read Brahmi, it is at least very useful to understand the basic principles of the script, to understand how vowels were treated in relation to the consonants. All the later Indian and South-East Asian scripts (Devanagari, Thai, Sinhalese, Tibetan etc.) are developed from Brahmi and based on the same basic principles. So if you understand Brahmi, you will understand why the vowels are placed in such a seemingly haphazard way - to the right, to the left, over and below the consonants - in these later scripts.

Thanks Kare but Norwegian will just do my head in!English is all I can manage at the moment! Learning Pali is still an aspiration - perhaps when life settles down and I have more time on my hands.

All the later Indian and South-East Asian scripts (Devanagari, Thai, Sinhalese, Tibetan etc.) are developed from Brahmi

And don't forget Burmese!

kind regards

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Let not a person revive the pastOr on the future build his hopesFor the past has been left behindAnd the future has not been reached.Instead with inisight let him seeEach presently arisen stateLet him know that and be sure of itInvincibly, unshakably.

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

Let not a person revive the pastOr on the future build his hopesFor the past has been left behindAnd the future has not been reached.Instead with inisight let him seeEach presently arisen stateLet him know that and be sure of itInvincibly, unshakably.

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Kare wrote:How can a publisher expect to make money on such a publication? It is a totally crazy, totally wonderful idea!

I helped this guy on one of the books (the Nibbāna Sermons by Ven. Ñāṇananda). He told me he isn't looking to make any profits on the books, and I think that all of this is coming out of his pocket. The price that you see is Amazon.com's minimum at-cost level for the print-on-demand services (CreateSpace).

Kare wrote:How can a publisher expect to make money on such a publication? It is a totally crazy, totally wonderful idea!

I helped this guy on one of the books (the Nibbāna Sermons by Ven. Ñāṇananda). He told me he isn't looking to make any profits on the books, and I think that all of this is coming out of his pocket. The price that you see is Amazon.com's minimum at-cost level for the print-on-demand services (CreateSpace).

Please convey my deep respects and heartfelt thanks for the good work he does!

Life is too short for this. The Pali texts are available in Roman script (and most other scripts that you might know better). Learn to read and understand Pali rather than learning some obsolete script.

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:Life is too short for this. The Pali texts are available in Roman script (and most other scripts that you might know better). Learn to read and understand Pali rather than learning some obsolete script.

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:Life is too short for this. The Pali texts are available in Roman script (and most other scripts that you might know better). Learn to read and understand Pali rather than learning some obsolete script.

That is a very good advice: Learn to read and understand Pali in some script you know.

But afterwards, allow yourself some fun. If reading Pali in obsolete scripts does not quite match ones ideas of fun, OK, then don't do it.